Currently, in the field of regenerative medicine, studies in which stem cells collected from a subject are caused to proliferate or differentiate ex vivo, and are thereafter transplanted into a subject, thereby promoting regeneration of tissue of the subject, have been carried out. Stem cells are multipotent and can differentiate into a variety of tissues and organs, and they have been attracting attention as cells which are the key to regenerative medicine.
It has been known that in ex vivo cultural proliferation of stem cells, the addition of a serum to the medium is effective. However, when human therapies are targeted, the use of a serum derived from an animal other than humans should be avoided in light of possible safety problems. Therefore, the use of a serum prepared from blood collected from a human, in particular, collected from the same subject is desired. Furthermore, in comparison to a blood test, cultivation of stem cells in the field of regenerative medicine requires a relatively large amount of serum. In addition, in order to prepare serum assuming application to a human, it is required to separate and store the serum aseptically in a closed system.
As a response to the abovementioned various requirements, the present applicants have already disclosed a serum preparation apparatus including: a blood storage part for storing blood, and a component storage part linked aseptically and in an air-tight manner to the blood storage part, the blood storage part having a blood coagulation accelerating substance that is in contact with the blood and accelerates coagulation, and the blood coagulation accelerating substance producing serum aseptically (refer to Patent Document 1).
Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent No. 3788479